Naruto of the Sand
by Celestia Craven
Summary: Naruto has been majorly cheated out of many things, and he eventually just decides to leave the Leaf Village. Thankfully, Gaara invites him to join the Sand Village, and Naruto starts his own personal army of Missing Nin and takes on a Genin team. What...


**Story** : Naruto of the Sand

**Disclaimer** : I don't own _Naruto_ - thank you very much. (Mean people keep rubbing it in my face . . . RAWR!)

**Author** : ChocolateCherryGenesis

**Summary** : Naruto has been majorly cheated out of many things, and he eventually just decides to leave the Leaf Village. Thankfully, Gaara invites him to join the Sand Village, and is willing to even allow him to remain a civilian in thanks for stopping him from living an empty life. Though, Naruto isn't the type of person to just hide as a civilian like that.

**Written** : Summer of 2011

**Published** : Friday, March 30, 2012

**Missing Nin Earring Code** : (Trust me, it's important for later, so it's here for easy reference.)

{Brown} Civilians

{Blue} New Missing Nin or Ninja of E- to D-Class

{Green} Usually C- to B-Class which was approximately Jonin Rank

{Red} A-Class to S-Class. That usually included ANBU to Kage-level Ninja.

{White} Currently being pursued but are innocent

{Black} Leader of all Missing Nin

{Orange} Village-Loyal Ninja

**Author's** **Note** : This is actually an interesting idea I had. Anyway, if you have questions or comments, please review! ^_^ Eleven pages, yay!

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><p><strong>Chapter One<strong>

Away, Away, Far Away

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><p>Naruto was annoyed with the Toad Sage standing in front of him. He had believed that Jiraya was going to train him. And he had been proven quite wrong.<p>

In the entire two years he had been with the Toad Sage, he had learned many things. And none of them had been taught by Jiraya. The Toad Sage had, to that very day, taught him only two techniques - Summoning and Rasengan.

And he'd known those **_before_** he left on his 'training journey'.

Naruto looked upwards to see an eagle, of all things, currently circling the campsite before landing on Naruto's wary shoulder. The bird offered it's ankle to Naruto, showing a letter that dangled off a length of string.

Naruto sat down at the edge of camp, and examined it.

It was addressed to _Uzumaki Naruto, Unknown Address, Unknown Region, Spring Country_.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. If they only knew the country, how did they find him? The specialized stamp at the top left answered his question. Oh~. Highly-trained chakra-seeking eagle. With his large amount of chakra, it wouldn't have taken long to find him in a country with only fifty-or-so ninja.

He turned the envelope around to see the red wax seal on the back. His eyebrow raised. "The Kazekage Seal?" He mumbled to himself. He then used a shuriken to pry the wax seal off without destroying it.

_Uzumaki Naruto,_

_It has been a long while since I've seen you last. One full year. I have sent you this letter via my personal carrier eagle. I have become Kazekage during your absence from the Village Hidden in the Leaves. I have also come to the conclusion that you are like me: You need a place that will not hunt your for your Jinchuriki status._

_While you had your teammates to keep you focused during the failed Sand/Sound Invasion, now that one has betrayed you, I believe that you will not be able to ignore their belittling of you, the way that I've heard that no one actually teaches you. I want to offer you the home that I have found._

_Once Sand promoted me to Kazekage, they were forced to admit that I am just like them, and that being a jailor of the One-Tail doesn't make me evil. So far, Sand is the only country with the necessary connections and military force to provide sanctuary to another village's nin._

_Wave and Spring are the only other countries that are not buried in their own arrogance and hate. But, even they would be unable to hide you for long without casualties. I propose sanctuary to you for as long as you need it. _

_As Kazekage, I see that you are an unmatchable ally. Your first-hand experience of being hated for what is not your fault allows you to see all perspectives. You are also loyal enough to never betray the village. I know, that just as if you leave the Leaf Village, you will one day disappear from our sight if we stray from the path of goodness. But I know that you will never attack old friends._

_As the viewpoint of the lonely person I was before you became my best and first friend, I see you as the unshakable pillar to help me when I am weak. You are the only person to have seen past my problems, and to find who I really was. I cannot explain how grateful I was to you. I feel that it is my duty to, in some way, help you like you helped me._

_From both views, I can only ask one favor if you decide to join us. Give Jiraya a warning. And then, if he still refuses to help you train, even though he is your sensei, leave. I have a squad of Sand Nin waiting in the Spring Capital. Go with them, if you wish, and leave for Sand Village. Here, I can guarantee that you will be respected as a person. And if you are ever discontent, give us the same warning before you leave that you give Jiraya._

_If you become my adopted brother, Naruto of the Sand, you can never think of yourself as a Leaf Nin again. You cannot come to their aid any time you wish. You can give them sanctuary, but you cannot fight for them except as an allied country's nin._

_You have five days._

_~Gaara of the Sand_

Naruto looked at the letter in his hand. He wasn't shocked. And it was actually the lack of shock that truly shocked him. To any other Leaf Nin, to even consider this offer was treason. But Naruto was doing more than considering. He was already thinking of the escape plan.

Of course, he'd miss his friends. But he hadn't really had any. Sakura wasn't a bad person, but she didn't like to see the truth. She fooled herself into believing that her hands were totally clean of any wrong-doing. To a lesser extent, that's what they all did.

But that was false.

All of them were ninja. Leaf Nin, ready to follow any order given. That wasn't Naruto's style. That wasn't Naruto's Ninja Way. He couldn't fight unless it was to defend people's lives. He couldn't fight just for the money that Missions brought in.

In fact, he'd rather simply be a civilian whenever he wasn't needed.

With Tsunade, she completely ignored him except for their well-meaning teasing when he was given his Mission Statement. He, despite being the reason Tsunade was even in Leaf in the first place, was almost completely ignored.

With Gaara, his first real friend, he could explain that he wanted to not be involved with meaningless Missions for lazy, cheating businessmen who thought that someone was after them. He'd already saved Wave Country from Gato, only to be forced to accept Missions from people just like him.

If nothing else, he'd have a friend.

Sasuke wasn't a friend. He was a rival. A rival who had betrayed his village for power. Sakura was a weak little girl who didn't realize that Sasuke wasn't an ally anymore. Kakashi didn't even care what happened to his third student, or even his second, as shown by his refusal to teach either Sakura or Naruto anything past simple Chakra Control exercises taught by all sensei. Tsunade had unknowingly ignored him, and forced him to leave the village on his journey. Jiraya ignored him as well. The only reason, Naruto suspected, that he hadn't 'lost' the blond before now was because Naruto cooked a mean dinner.

The only good thing from the past two years was what Naruto could have learned without cooking meals for Jiraya on top of it. Jiraya had a spy network, spread across the countries. It was why he stayed for approximately three weeks or so before moving on. A few weeks was more than enough to learn at least the bare basics of a trade.

Stone-carving, Statue-making, and Sword-making in Mist. Painting, Sketching, Sculpting, and Carving from Fire. Various lessons of Missing Nin that he had carefully learned from in Sound. Each country taught him a bit more.

Jiraya spent all his day meeting with his contacts, while Naruto learned all that he could. Any form of knowledge could help him. After all, shouting the twelve most popular swords at a now-confused opponent could give him the necessary edge. Even the flower-arranging and astronomy learned from Spring Country could allow him to recognize his location and date from only the plants and stars.

He'd not arrived in the Spring Capital, Wave Country, or Wind Country, though. The last was easy to understand. The Village Hidden in the Sand was the only real source of information in that country, and it was the only Nin village that was actually hidden as all their names suggested. Jiraya simply didn't know where it was.

But the Spring Capital and Wave Country made no logical sense. Both had recently, through Naruto's own actions, become the centers of trade within the world. But Jiraya refused to go near. And Naruto thought that he was beginning to understand why.

Even with only a few dozen Nin, Koyuki, the Lady of Spring Country and his person friend, could still teach him more than what Jiraya was willing to teach him. Or, in reality, what Jiraya wanted Naruto to know. And Wave Country would be a good place to settle down as a civilian next to Tazuna, the bridge-builder that Naruto had saved. He wouldn't even have to settle down. Wave Country owed him partly for it's current prosperity. And Wave Country never forgot their debts, unlike Fire Country and the Leaf Village.

Jiraya was afraid that he'd become sick of the Leaf Village - which Naruto was. He knew that Hunter Nin could and would come after him in Wave or Spring Country, but Gaara had made a good point. No one would dare attack the Sand Village after it's recent rumors of change and luxury. It was once again becoming one of the main villages. The Leaf Village could demand Naruto, but as honorary brother to Gaara, they would have to declare war to get to him. And not even the Leaf Village was foolish enough to start a war that would leave them weak to the other villages, right? If Leaf attacked Sand, it would first have to find it. And even then, they were equal in military power. The Sand/Sound Invasion had been lost because of only two factors. Konoha's home-field advantage, and Naruto's heroic actions.

But if they tried to attack Sand, they would have neither.

And so, it was logical, as the bug-clan, Aburame, would say. Naruto would leave. He would just have to plan to give the Toad Sage the slip first.

The Toad Sage Jiraya, in his own foolishness, left Naruto by himself for over eight hours per day. He was around fifty miles from the Spring Capital, and Jiraya was nervous about Naruto even being this close. They were leaving the area the day after tomorrow. If Naruto wanted to make the time limit, he had to leave tomorrow morning and not a single second later.

Naruto knew he'd be cutting it close. The minute the Toad Sage left, Naruto would disappear into the forest and start running toward the Capital. The Toad Sage was faster than him, and had reinforcements available only a week's travel away.

Meaning that Naruto was going to continue using full speed without stop until he arrived. If he didn't rest, he could manage the fifty miles in a little over a day. Once he arrived, though, he wouldn't be able to look to Koyuki for help. No, that was the first place that Jiraya would look. And he'd already known that Koyuki wouldn't be able to resist Leaf's power for long.

Instead, he'd use the Transforming Technique to arrive, take off the Transformation and use another, and he would start looking around for that squad of Sand Nin. He had, after all, only four days to find them. He'd stay out of sight, changing Transformations daily. But each one would have the same noticeable feature. Gaara's tattoo above his eye.

The Sand Nin would, of course, recognize it, but Naruto was counting on Jiraya's lack of interest on reports, in case they met in the streets. Jiraya, if he read the report at all, would only have seen the number of missions that Gaara had been on, and the fact that he held the One-Tail. Naruto was counting on that one simple detail about Gaara's appearance having slipped his mind.

He would have to take their low supply of food, (something that Naruto thought was purposeful on Jiraya's part), that would only last him three days. He couldn't buy anything in Spring, because a shop might ask for an ID, like both Wave and Spring were starting to do so that no dangerous Missing Nin would stay in the area.

That would also cause Jiraya to waste a precious hour traveling to the town and back for supplies.

Other than the food, Naruto would wear only the clothes on his back, a few explosive notes and shuriken, and the famous necklace around his neck. He would use an explosive note to blow up any other equipment that he had, including, unfortunately, his hidden, hand-made weights from a weapons shop in Mist. He would travel light, or he would collapse in exhaustion. He could always use his saved money from his short jobs during the last year to buy new clothes and equipment later in Wind Country. After all, if he got caught, he would be executed for leaving the village.

When Jiraya arrived at their camp, Naruto proceeded to honor Gaara's request. "Come on, let's train!" He shouted loudly.

"Not now," Jiraya complained. "Later."

"But you haven't taught me a single thing in _months_!" Naruto exclaimed.

Jiraya sighed. "That's because you're too stupid to understand what I'm teaching you," He said in annoyed explanation.

Though he didn't show it, that comment really stung Naruto. For a long time, he'd really looked up to the Toad Sage, the sensei of the great Fourth Hokage, who was his personal role model.

And so, Naruto laid onto his sleeping bag and waited.

[] [] [] [] []

Naruto fairly flew through the forest, jumping from tree branch to tree branch at the fastest speed he could manage. It would tire him out and perhaps cause chakra exhaustion, but he needed to put distance between him and Jiraya.

The large trees, hearty enough to survive the winter, now towered above him after two years of constant spring. As he saw a river, he stood at the top of a tree above it and dangled his canteen into the water so as not to leave footprints.

As it came back up, he sniffed it with his improved senses (thanks to his ninja training and having the Nine-Tails as a 'houseguest') and deemed it drinkable with a firm nod. He quickly gulped the cold liquid down, refilled and drank a few more times, before he stuck the cap back on.

He sighed, before he continued on.

It had been easy to escape, waiting for a few moments to insure that Jiraya was really gone, then throwing everything that he could find into a big pile. After making sure that it wouldn't reach the trees, he started a great bonfire, using up all his paper bombs, as well as burying any metal weapons that he could not bring with him.

He'd then set a few false trails, and used the least-well-known path. Instead of jumping on the usual thick middle branches of the great trees, he used the very top branches, mostly too weak to hold his weight. No Leaf Nin knew how to jump using only the tops.

But that was what some of his Missing Nin training was for. After proving his non-loyalty to his village, Naruto had been apprenticed to another Missing Nin for the three weeks he stayed there in Mist. Missing Nin had their own form of 'village,' because they knew exactly what being a Missing Nin meant.

In exchange for their freedom, they were left at their power level. They had no teacher or sensei anymore. But, when one Missing Nin met another, they shared jutsu. Leaf Nins showed others their Fire Jutsu, while Stone Nins showed others their Earth Jutsu. You can imagine all the rest of the combinations, I'm sure, without me pointing them all out. Like that, they actually learned more than one simple element or one style. They learned all sorts.

They had their own complex form of government, but were, for the most part, free. Their best-kept secret - something that Naruto had suffered to finally earn the right to know - was a sort of signal. Missing Nin helped other Missing Nin. And Missing Nin recognized other Missing Nin by a plain black earring in either ear. It was specific, having to be silver for the edges, having to be circular, and having to have a jewel-like stone barely seen through the outer translucent stone. You could only see through the seemingly solid outer stone by focusing a specific amount of chakra to your eyes. A specific 'frequency' of chakra, if you will.

Once one Missing Nin saw an earring that was of that size, shape, and color, he checked it for the inner stone. The inner stone kept anyone from trying to copy it. In addition, it was sold, unknowingly, to several ninja and even civilians as a fashion statement.

There were specific colors for your status, et cetera, et cetera.

A blue stone meant that you were a new Missing Nin or still pretty weak. A green stone meant that you were at least Jonin Rank and knew how to take care of yourself. A red stone meant that you were A- or S-Class and dangerous. A white stone meant that you were being chased but were absolutely innocent. But, the greatest honor would be to receive another black stone, meaning that you were honorable, powerful, and trustworthy. A specific black stone, of unknown origin, that could only be given by the previous Leader of many Missing Nin across the ninja world.

That particular black stone was rumored to be a work of art, but no one had reported seeing it in over fifty years. It was rumored to be lost.

There were also two other colors, used when the earrings were sold to regular people who didn't have any idea what they were really buying. Orange for Nin that were allied with a Village, and brown for Civilians. It had helped Missing Nin see enemy Nin that were trying to spy on the Missing Nin.

Naruto had long wished to become a Missing Nin, but he knew that being a Jinchuriki would automatically turn him into an A-Rank Missing Nin, or even an S-Rank.

But, no more. Naruto used every bit of energy that he could muster, even relying on the Nine-Tails to hand him some more chakra. Not much, or every Nin within miles would feel it, much less Jiraya, but he still gained an extra energy boost.

After thirty-two straight hours of running - though, to be honest, the last few hours were a little shaky and not straight at all - he arrived. He easily by-passed the guards at the gate, using a Shadow Clone that was Transformed to look like a cart filled with branches, and a his Transformation to look like a young boy. The kid had, of course, a white inner stone in his earrings. Naruto didn't think that he'd find another Missing Nin in Spring, because of it's high security, but there was always a chance.

One of the guards walked over to him. He was tall, had black hair, and he had a chunin vest. "I'm going to need your name, business, and ID, kid."

Naruto suppressed a flinch. They needed an ID! He decided to go along with it, hoping that he'd be able to talk his way out. "My name is Tsunami Chonji, I'm helping out with gathering branches for firewood, and I lost my ID."

The guard smiled. "Really? Then I'll have to put you in custody while we look over city records or we get word from your parents."

Inside, Naruto was slouching in defeat, but on the outside he was still smiling innocently. Once he was in the Capital, he'd run fast and hope he wasn't caught by the Nin that was approximately his same power level, chunin. He nodded, he spun around to gesture to his cart. "Where do you want me to put my cart?" Unknown to him, that momentary motion had allowed his foreign (to him) hairstyle to billow a bit with the wind, allowing his earring to be shown for a second.

The chunin didn't show any outside reaction, but he said. "You know what, I recognize you, and you're a good kid, so I'll let you pass as long as you realize that if you get into any trouble, I'll be blamed."

Naruto was completely confused, but then the chunin allowed his hand to come up and tuck his fringe behind his ear, showing an identical earring. He quickly used a perfected burst of chakra and stared at it. A blue stone. Ah, he was an ally . . .

Naruto used that moment to send him a look of barely concealed thanks, before he regained a less suspicious look. Naruto yelled out in the style of the kid he was now pretending to be. "Hey, thanks! Let me know if I can help you out, my parents aren't bad off! Why don't you visit and let me know if you see an old guy named Jiraya, he's been looking everywhere for me after my family moved away!"

And he was gone into the Capital.

[] [] [] [] []

_- Four Hours Later -_

[] [] [] [] []

Jiraya landed out of a tree and patted his vest, getting some dust off. He stepped up to the guard, showing his papers. "I'm the Leaf's Toad Sage, and my student just escaped, possibly to turn Missing Nin. I have reason to believe that he'd heading here, though he didn't leave too much of a trail."

The gate guard scanned over the papers. "Okay, you're clear."

Jiraya sped by, not even realizing that the gate guard he'd just talked to was already handing a scroll to a messenger bird.

Naruto, almost a mile away, felt the suppressed chakra signature that his former sensei was in possession of. Jiraya had learned to hide himself well, yes. But he hadn't learned from a Missing Nin like Naruto had.

Naruto felt a small frown make it's way onto his face. Jiraya was like him; neither could appeal to local authorities without the public realizing what they were up to. Naruto would be caught, and Jiraya would be questioned on why he was so desperately going after a mere genin from his village.

In the end, it was a simple game of Tag. A _lethal_ game.

Naruto climbed onto a roof and allowed himself to look into the distance. With his enhanced senses from the Nine-Tails, he caught sight of Jiraya heading into the city at top speed. Naruto quickly jumped off the roof and walked to another part of town, not looking back.

Just a few seconds later, a messenger bird arrived.

It was addressed to 'the kid with the cart of firewood' from 'gate guard'. Naruto warily opened it to see a simple message, reading: _Toad Sage spotted alone. Looking for you. I think he's planning to search the east side of town first._

Naruto sighed in relief. The east was where Koyuki and all the other nobles lived. It was the first place that someone would look when it came to Lady Koyuki's personal friend. Naruto knew that the west was filled with mostly middle-class citizens.

He spent the next day walking around non-stop, searching for Gaara's Sand Nin. He knew that Gaara wouldn't break his word, but it was only a matter of time before Jiraya found him. After all, the ANBU would be arriving any day, now.

Naruto saw a Civilian walk up to him. "Hey, I've got a message from the First."

Naruto warily asked. "Who is it addressed to?"

"The Ninth."

(Author'sNote : Referring to the One-Tail and the Nine-Tails. ^_^ I thought it was quite clever, really.)

Naruto sighed in relief. He would have to trust his instincts, now. He was tired, starving, and most of all, he was running out of time and energy. 'Sides, even if these Nin were impostors, it was better than starving to death. Well, hopefully.

The Ninja lead him to a run-down inn named the _Red Horse_. He was led to a hotel room on the fourth floor - after all, the technology in Spring Country allowed for higher buildings than Fire Country. It was a simple inn, wooden walls and floors, and sparse furnishings, though Naruto could see a few things that were a little out of place that marked this as a secret meeting spot.

The Nin knocked a signal on the doorway of the hotel room, which carefully opened. Only one other was in the room. She wasn't in a Transformation, like the other Nin and Naruto were. Her clothes consisted of white leggings that reached down to her knees, for modesty's sake. Above it was a black short skirt with high slits on each side for mobility's sake. On each arm was a bracer-like piece of leather, brown in color. Her shirt looked like a dark blue tunic, and a white bandana hung from her neck.

Hanging from her shoulder was a large-ish canteen. Her hair was short and a brown color, held out of her eyes by her Sand Forehead Protector. Her green eyes looked over Naruto in thought, before she turned to the other Nin. "Is it him?" She asked her partner.

The Transformed Sand Nin nodded and released his illusion. With a '_poof_!', Naruto found himself in the presence of Baki, Gaara's former jonin instructor. "It's definitely him."

Naruto also released his Transformation and waited patiently for the lady to call their last member back via headset. Surprisingly, Naruto soon found himself face-to-face with Kankuro.

"Oi, you look horrible!" Was Kankuro's greeting.

Naruto barely managed a comeback, due to his exhaustion. "Compared to you, I look like a fresh flower!"

[] [] [] [] []

Naruto realized that he was in good company and finally allowed himself to gain rest from his days of little-to-no sleep and food. Just a few hours later - all they had to spare - and they were on the move.

Naruto glanced at the gate guard who nodded a goodbye to the once-again Transformed boy. Naruto gave a tired wink,."Hello, Guard-san! Nice to see you again. Thanks for your help last time."

And they walked down the path. Immediately once they were out of sight, they changed direction, circling around the Capital, and headed straight for Wind Country territory. Naruto managed to keep himself moving only with the thought - _I need to get there, or I'll be executed as a Missing Nin_.

They didn't camp often, all of them nervous. It was a week's journey from Spring Country to Wind Country. That's a total of one hundred and sixty-eight hours that they could be captured in. And if the Sand Nin were caught with a Missing Nin, they'd be executed too.

Once, they could sense a squad of ANBU passing them at a ferry leading to Spring Country. Since the country was an island, two days of travel were just by boat. Thankfully, the ANBU weren't at the level were they could water-walk for days on end. They were taking another ship. One that was too far away from the four Nin to sense them.

Naruto sighed in relief as they made it past the dock on shore and a decent way into the forest. They still had three days left, through Fire and Mist Countries, but at the moment he was safe.

Nights were spent without a fire, which could attract others. Each person only received six hour's rest, before they were on the move again. Not once did they stop. Not even for Naruto, who appeared to be half-dead. The limited rest from the journey combined with the lack of rest for days before that, and he was nearing his limit.

Baki got close to him at the end of their fourth day. "Are you sure you can make it?"

Naruto glanced over at him with black circles around his eyes, and gave a grim smile. "It doesn't matter. If we have to slow down, I'll die anyway. At least this way, I can bet on my own stamina and ability."

Baki nodded. "If that's what you want. Gaara-sama speaks very highly of you, you realize. I'd never really met you before, and I believed him to be exaggerating. But now, I realize that he was doing the opposite. You're one of the most determined people I ever met."

"I think like this: I refuse to become a weapon. We are all human. Leaf Village doesn't realize this. Neither does any of the others. But, with Gaara, I can trust that he won't use me just for my power," He gave a hollow laugh. "After all, I was hearing Jiraya thinking of accepting Danzo's offer to turn me into a ROOT operative."

Baki nodded. He could understand. Danzo was famous, even in Sand, for his mind control. His ROOT members were really people that would obey absolutely any command of Danzo's. They even had a seal on their tongues that keeps them physically incapable of spilling his secrets.

No wonder this boy was so determined to leave Leaf Village.

Baki took his place at the edge of the camp, taking his watch while his teammates Kankuro and Emi rested.

[] [] [] [] []

With numerous close calls, they were finally behind friendly borders. Naruto sighed in relief and promptly collapsed after they were far enough to be able to press charges if any ANBU followed.

Baki was a professional, and he realized that Naruto needed rest, or he very well could die. He called out. "Okay, Kankuro, stay in the nearest Civilian village and watch out for ANBU, just in case. I'll make sure that we send for you when we've arrived at the village. Emi, I want you to help me carry Naruto the rest of the way. We'll use a stretcher so he can rest. For all I know, his body might decide that it needs to put itself in a coma if we push it any farther. But still, we're not home safe quite yet."

"Hai, Baki-san," Emi replied, while Kankuro nodded and walked off, back toward the last village that they just passed. After three days, Baki and Emi arrived in Sand Village with their unconscious charge.

For the first time, ever, the two Nin saw Gaara act nervous. It wasn't a normal person's view of nervous, but compared to his famous emotionlessness, it was definitely different.

The Kazekage, in his official coat and hat, walked briskly down the stairs that led to Kazekage Tower. He quickly gestured for them to bring Naruto out of the almost constant sandy winds.

After they placed him on a cot in the tower, they saw Gaara bend over him to examine him, before he called out to one of his personal guard. "Someone fetch my sister and another Medic Nin."

The guard bowed and vanished, carrying out his orders.

Gaara turned to the two Nin. "Report."

Baki stood forward. "We arrived at Spring Country Capital City, as you ordered, and waited for any sign of Uzumaki Naruto. On the third day, I caught sight of him and talked to him like we were told. He was Transformed, but we caught sight of your tattoo on his forehead, and we found him. He somehow bypassed the security when he got in, though we were able to get him papers as we all left. He appeared to have slept and ate little to nothing for the days it took him to find us. When that was added to our rigorous travel back to Wind Country, he collapsed once we were past the border. He appears to be in a light healing coma. For some reason, he appears to have no need for nutrition the last few days. We left Kankuro at Diazaki Village near the border to keep an eye on anyone that might have seen us."

Gaara nodded. "I think I know why. For now, rest for the remainder of the day before you give me a full mission report. Prepare to receive your pay for an A-Class mission at that time. Dismissed."

The two exhausted Nin bowed and left, ready to take a short vacation after nearly a week and a half of constant danger and travel. Gaara waved toward another of his guards. "Send me Inari, Chiksoon, and Soma."

The guard nodded and left, leaving Gaara alone. They knew that their job wasn't strictly necessary. Gaara was stronger than all his special guards combined. Instead, they simply had the job of sending for people that Gaara needed to speak to.

Temari, a Medic Nin, Inari, Chiksoon, and Sooma all arrived at the same time, approximately. They all looked with curiosity upon the newcomer who was resting on the cot. Naruto had changed greatly during the last two years, and so it took a few moments to recognize him. His hair had grown a few inches, and he hadn't cut it yet, instead letting the greater gravity make it straighter and less gravity-defying.

He had long ago hidden his face behind a Kakashi-like cloth mask, though it was in red. It also, thankfully, covered his whisker birthmarks. He was not ashamed, but he didn't want to attract attention. No Nin wanted to stand out too much. His forehead was also covered by a red length of cloth with lengths of beads hanging from the ends, so that only his eyes were seen, like the traditional Nin.

His clothes were simple, but they were definitely different. He had completely trashed the orange suit, instead going with black pants and a black shirt. Around his neck was a pendant of a smiling red fox, and around one of his wrists was a bracelet with red wooden beads, with knots in between so they wouldn't clank together.

Temari appeared with her usual four ponytails, though her clothing had changed during the last two years. Now, she stuck with a white shirt and dark purple pants. Hanging from her shoulder was her Sand Forehead Protector. Her vest was also the same dark purple, while a canteen and a medic pack was hung on her belt. Once she caught sight of Naruto, she rushed over and started her analysis.

Gaara turned to Inari. "Here he is, just like I promised."

Inari was young, only a genin. In fact, he was quite familiar. This was the Inari from Wave Country, the one that helped rally the citizens to drive out Gato's mob. He had grown, and currently stood almost a full foot higher than three years ago. He wore simple clothes. Whites, tans, and browns were the dominating colors.

Next to him was Chiksoon, who wore practical clothes for the desert. Her shirt didn't have sleeves, only a strap behind her neck. The cloth, though black, wasn't too hot because of that. Hanging from her elbows were strange sleeve-like things that billowed at the end and reached all the way to her hand and only allowed her fingernails painted dark blue to be seen. Her pants were simple, the same black color, and reached to her ankles. Wrapped around her was a huge white sheet-like cloth that she wore like a veil - except that it reached all the way to her feet - when in the village to keep the sun's rays off of herself.

Standing next to her was Soma. Bearing a noticeable resemblance to his cousin Shino, Soma was a part of the Sand Aburame Clan. His tan hoodie with a turtleneck-like collar that reached to his nose and black trousers were the only noticeable details, except for his sunglasses.

Gaara nodded toward Naruto. "As of now, you three genin are on guard duty. I'm too busy to deal with everything right now, so watch over him until he wakes up. Understood?"

"Understood, Kazekage-sama!" They said in unison.

"Good . . ."

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><p>To Be Continued<p>

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